“Young Mistress also knows that this method is the most convenient.” Doctor Xu had been associated with the Prince Shu’s mansion for many years and was considered an elder who had watched Li Ruantang grow up. She coughed lightly, “This old woman knows you are reluctant, but if this medicine is not neutralized, I’m afraid this young man will have difficulty sleeping tonight.”

The night deepened.

Whether at the Meng residence or the pleasure boat, she couldn’t afford to delay.

After seeing off Doctor Xu, Li Ruantang had just entered the bedroom. As soon as the bamboo curtain lifted, a joyful young man threw himself straight into her arms.

“Tangtang!”

The young gentleman came barefoot, his head nuzzling against her neck, asking carefully, “Can you snuggle with me again?”

His face still had the flush brought on by the drug, and those eyes were bright and shining, containing shyness as he lowered his voice, “Just now when we snuggled, I felt much better.”

He raised one finger, quite seriously waving it, “Just, just once.”

Li Ruantang sighed slightly. She picked up the silly young gentleman in one go, “If you’re willing to take the medicine obediently, we’ll snuggle twice.”

“Really?” Meng Jun immediately became happy, but in the next moment, he awkwardly buried his head in her neck, his face turning bright red, “Is that medicine bitter?”

If it’s very bitter, then he would have to rinse his mouth many times, otherwise she would find it bitter too.

Tonight’s moon hung brightly in the sky.

The maids coming and going were all quiet, afraid of disturbing the young couple whispering in the bedroom. The medicinal soup that was brought up, Li Ruantang had been taking for a few days. Now it was to be fed to the still confused young gentleman.

She carefully blew on it, then looking at Meng Jun who was already making a bitter face, she couldn’t help but pinch his nose, “Don’t worry, I’ve prepared some sweet preserved fruits for you. We’ll drink one sip and eat one piece, so it won’t be too bitter.”

This medicine smelled familiar.

The young gentleman couldn’t remember where he had smelled it before, but something that smelled this bitter would definitely taste even more bitter.

He reluctantly shrank back a bit, but the girl in front of him was patient and gentle, and moreover, she had promised to snuggle with him twice.

The young gentleman’s courage grew, and seeing the medicine spoon almost at his mouth, he suddenly raised the stakes, gesturing to her, “Tangtang, the two snuggles later must be—”

He secretly clenched the brocade blanket covering him, took a deep breath, and said, “Must be like in the pleasure boat to count.”

Meng Jun was at the height of the drug’s effect and didn’t care about being embarrassed at all. He just felt that his whole body was itchy and numb, and he needed to curl up in her arms, snuggling until the end of time.

But Li Ruantang wasn’t.

Listening to the young gentleman’s nonsense, the burning of her ear tips became more apparent, along with that bit of deliberately suppressed fire that kept clamoring.

Clarity and reason made the outstretched fingers suddenly retract. Li Ruantang hurriedly put down the soup and cupped several handfuls of cold water to cover her face.

“Tangtang?” Seeing her turn away, Meng Jun thought he had angered her. The young gentleman panicked, glanced at the half-bowl of medicinal soup, furrowed his brows, and without thinking, picked it up and gulped it down in one go.

The bitterness made tears form in the corners of his eyes, but he still managed to flash a smile at Li Ruantang when she turned her head, “Look, I drank it all.”

The bitterness on his tongue was far less than the fear of her turning away.

Meng Jun gently tugged at her sleeve, “Tangtang, I’m not afraid of bitterness. Don’t ignore me, okay?”

Li Ruantang’s steps faltered, something seemed to surge in her heart, and something else seemed to be uncontrollable. Reaching out to half-embrace the pitiable Meng Jun, she hurriedly picked up a preserved fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, “Silly Jiujiu, who drinks medicine like that?”

“Is it bitter?”

“Otherwise, I’ll have the maid brew some sweet water for you.”

She spoke one sentence after another, unable to suppress her concern. The young gentleman’s heart immediately filled with joy. He shook his head like a rattle drum, his cheeks full of preserved fruit, inching bit by bit into Li Ruantang’s arms.

When he had swallowed all the bitterness, Meng Jun looked up, gazing expectantly at the girl looking down at him.

Now they could snuggle!

The gauze lamp was bright, illuminating all those thoughts clearly.

Li Ruantang stared blankly at his still flushed handsome face, suddenly leaned down, and the bitterness of the medicine and the sweetness of the preserved fruit mingled delicately between their lips and teeth. Just a light touch, and more sweetness spread from the tip of her heart.

“Mmm, Tangtang, I haven’t, haven’t rinsed my mouth yet.” The young gentleman frozen in place suddenly reacted. He frantically lifted the brocade blanket, about to go find water, urgently negotiating with her, “This, this one doesn’t count!”

“Silly.” Li Ruantang couldn’t help but smile, her heart still pounding. She gently wrapped her arm around Meng Jun’s waist, picked up the cup and took a small sip, then passed it to the dumbfounded young gentleman’s tongue. “I’m not afraid of bitterness either.”

The moonlight was clear and bright.

Wei Dan, who was guarding the pleasure boat, was about to cry. To think that she, a proper young lady, couldn’t touch the readily available male attendants, but instead had to rock the beauty couch herself, making some unusual noises.

Especially since a message had been sent from the mansion that the Young Miss might not be able to return for a while.

Wei Dan frowned and rocked the beauty couch more vigorously. Although this act was fake, it would still affect the Young Miss’s reputation if word got out. She had to let people know that the physical strength of their female martial artists was not to be underestimated.

A boat full of sweet dreams, a few windows of bright moonlight.

The pomegranate red outer garment had long been pulled open at the collar by the young gentleman. He was curled up entirely in Li Ruantang’s embrace, fine beads of sweat emerging from the tip of his nose, not a trace of bitterness left on his lips.

He only knew to cling tightly to her shoulders with both hands. The spring breeze brushed past, the loose robes covering all the intimacy.

Those eyes, as if washed by water, were extraordinarily flushed at the corners, as if dyed with three parts of spring peach, lazily narrowed.

Meng Jun’s head was dizzy. Looking at the bat persimmon on the stepped bed, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have pulled someone down at Yuqing Pavilion.

The young gentleman was stunned, and as he turned, the brocade quilt covering his body fell off.

Outside the window, unknowingly, the sky had already turned a grayish color.

Zhiqiu, waiting in the outer room, heard movement inside and hurriedly brought water. “Young Master, please have some tea first. I’ll immediately order someone to bring hangover soup from the kitchen.”

“Mm, where’s Zhidong?”

Meng Jun’s head was buzzing. He rubbed his eyes, moistened his throat with warm tea, and then heard the servant say, “Zhidong just returned from night duty.”

The young gentleman nodded slightly, suddenly remembering that his mother had returned to the mansion, and hurriedly asked, “Oh right, Mother doesn’t know about my drunkenness, does she?”

“Don’t worry, Young Master. When you returned last night, Madam had already received an imperial edict from the palace and left urgently.”

“Oh.” The young gentleman was already used to Meng Xiaozhi’s sudden departures. He lowered his eyes, “Did Mother wear the safety charm I helped her get?”

“She did. Madam also instructed me to take good care of the Young Master during Han Fushi’s confinement period.”

Zhiqiu secretly glanced at the gloomy Meng Jun, pressed his lips together, and nervously asked, “Young Master, do you remember anything else?”

When Zhidong returned last night, he was unusually serious. Additionally, the servants of the noble families in the capital were all spreading rumors that their Young Master had publicly caused trouble for Young Miss Li. He couldn’t help but suspect that the Young Master had been targeted by those who intended to curry favor with Young Miss Li, which was why he returned drunk.

Although he himself didn’t think that asking a female martial artist to appreciate poetry was a big deal, the servants were spreading detailed rumors, saying that Young Miss Li had left in anger.

The young gentleman shook his head. He only remembered bats and persimmons, and… and the bitter and sweet taste of medicine.

What else could there be?

He slowly stretched, casually hugging the soft pillow he had taken from Li Ruantang. Just as he was about to sigh in relief, his eyes suddenly widened.

No, that’s not right!

Yesterday, he clearly wasn’t wearing this undergarment. Although the white silk styles were all quite similar, he had ordered each undergarment to be distinctly marked.

For example, the undergarment he wore yesterday had jade-colored rabbits embroidered on the collar, but this morning’s had green bamboo embroidered on it.

The young gentleman’s voice trembled, his temples throbbing. He asked the maid who had brought in the hangover soup, “Zhiqiu, when I returned yesterday, did you help me change my undergarment?”

Zhiqiu shook her head.

Meng Jun became even more panicked. Even if he was drunk, he hadn’t lost his memory. He should at least remember what he was wearing.

Moreover, he had an extremely absurd dream last night.

Yes, it must have been a dream. The young gentleman pressed his lips together. Li Ruantang would never look at him so gently. But if it was a dream, then where did his undergarment with the little rabbits embroidered on it go?!

Total word count of this book: 589,323